


10 Truths About Shiro

by TheOtakuWithHazelEyes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, List Fic, Mentions of PSTD, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Ryou Shirogane, Shiro's family is slightly dysfunctional, Team as Family, first fic on AO3, headcanons, yes the ending is meant to make you feel sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10655136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOtakuWithHazelEyes/pseuds/TheOtakuWithHazelEyes
Summary: Takashi Shirogane. Twenty-five years old, former ace pilot of the Galaxy Garrison, and is currently the Black Paladin of Voltron. He is stoic, occasionally goofy, and has been through more suffering than a man like him should. But here are ten truths about the man that may or may not surprise you. First Truth: He has always had a love for the stars...





	1. Angst

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Voltron Legendary Defender belongs to Dreamworks and Netflix.
> 
> Okay, first fic I'm posting to this site! It's also posted on my fanfiction account (same as this one, but with spaces in my username) so go there if that's more your speed. 
> 
> This has to be one of the angstiest things I have ever written, but I'm glad I did. Look out below, much of this are headcanons I hold for Space Dad, but don't let that deter you! 
> 
> Read, review, and enjoy!

 

_Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane._

_Twenty-five years old, former ace pilot of the Galaxy Garrison, and is currently the Black Paladin of Voltron._

_He is stoic, occasionally goofy, has a taste for cynical humor, and has been through more suffering than a man like him should._

_However, did you know..._

 

* * *

 

**1.)** **He has always had a love for the stars.**

Shiro still remembers the stories his _haha-ue-_ mother- would tell him. She told him about how, as a baby, he would start crying then wouldn't stop until she removed him from his cradle and sat down with him next to the big window in his room. There, the stars and the moon were visible in all their magnificence. His baby self would see the night sky and immediately settle down.

He would stare at the stars, she had described, as if he were wondering why he wasn't up there with them. He would never look at the morning sky like he did the night one, so his mother knew it was the stars he loved. She claimed he would babble in nonsense speak and reach as high as he could from her arms.

His mother had admitted, when he signed up for the Garrison, that she knew he was destined to be among the constellations and planets he adored.

Given what the Black Lion is supposed to be the guardian spirit of and Allura's own firm belief in destiny, Shiro can't help but wonder if _haha-ue_ was more correct than even she realized.

 

* * *

 

**2.)** **...But not so much anymore.**

Where they once held promise of adventure and freedom, the stars now only serve to remind him of distance. The more stars he sees means he is only that much farther from Earth, that much farther from his family, and that much deeper into Zarkon's empire.

Sad thing is, after being enslaved for a year and what occurred after he crashed, Shiro isn't sure he even _has_ a place on Earth anymore. He's too different from the man his friends and family no doubt remember (Keith obviously doesn't care and that means the _universe_ to him) and he doesn't know if he can trust the Garrison anymore.

But if he doesn't belong on Earth or with the stars he used to love so much, then what's he supposed to do when all this is over?

Still, there are days he heads down to the Castleship's observation deck and stares out the windows into space. He thinks that, maybe if he does this, he can remember why he had been taken with the stars to begin with.

 

* * *

 

**3.)** **He gives off that brotherly aura because he _is_ one.**

Shiro has one biological brother- Ryou. They're identical twins and are fifteen minutes apart from each other, Shiro being the elder.

They couldn't have been more different from each other- where Shiro is level headed and charismatic, Ryou was hot-tempered and stand-offish. This often got the latter into trouble. Shiro always did his best to look out for him- give him advice, steer him away from the wrong crowd- and for a time Ryou appreciated it. But as the two grew older and Shiro grew more prominent, Ryou began to resent his brother. Shiro was practically a legend at the Garrison's academy and was clearly the favorite in their family. It's hard to be constantly compared to someone who shares your face.

It came to a head when both men were eighteen and Shiro had graduated from the academy early. Ryou had gotten himself arrested and Shiro was the one who came to bail him out. No one is sure what the argument had been about- they could guess, but Shiro never said- but it led to a fist fight and Ryou taking off on his own on his hover-cycle. He never went home.

Last Shiro heard, his brother owned a mechanic's garage in southern California somewhere. He sometimes wonders how Ryou reacted to the news that the Kerberos crew died due to pilot-error. Laughed about how _Perfect Takashi_ finally screwed up instead of him, maybe?

Shiro regrets never trying to patch things up between the two of them. Now that he's fighting in an inter-stellar war, he may never get the chance to.

 

* * *

 

**4.)** **...But with his team he actually feels like a _brother_.**

Ryou may be his flesh and blood, but with Team Voltron...

Keith, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk ground him and he them. They need guidance and Shiro provides that. They need someone they can look up to and Shiro provides that. They're _kids_ fighting in a _war_ and Shiro wants nothing more to protect them, but they want to protect themselves so Shiro sees to it they have the ability to do so. In turn, they support him and protect him and always make him feel like he can be better than what he is.

Sometimes they make him laugh and sometimes they make him want to tear his hair out. But they're capable, strong, and Shiro is so, _so_ , proud of them. Looking back, he realizes one of the reasons he looked out for Ryou because he felt he _had_ to, being the relatively elder and more responsible sibling- a sentiment his twin both resented and rarely returned.

Shiro looks out for the members of Team Voltron because he _wants_ to, and they do the same. They balance each other- this is how siblings _should_ be.

That, of course, also makes him utterly _terrified_ of letting them down, just like he did Ryou.

 

* * *

 

**5.)** **Shiro has never been in a real romantic relationship.**

You wouldn't think this, considering what kind of person Shiro is. He's smart, kind, confident, and arguably drop-dead gorgeous. That had nothing to do with it- while Shiro was never _opposed_ to dating, he simply had never found the _time_.

He's an overachiever, plain and simple. Before leaving Earth, his life was a whirlwind of academy classes, graduating, Garrison missions, acting as a mentor/brother-figure to Keith, training, and whatever plethora of other tasks he took on for himself. The few occasions he _did_ allow himself some free time was spent taking his hover-bike through long rides in the desert, usually accompanied by friends or Keith.

Additionally, the few rare dates he had either accepted or been tricked into by friends never went anywhere, and once he was chosen for the Kerberos mission his free time vanished altogether. Additional training, press conferences, and the publicity tour took up all his time. The little time he _did_ manage to find was dedicated to either his family or assuring Keith he was going to be fine on his own for a year. Dating would have only complicated things by that point, anyway.

And if asked if his fan club back at the academy acted as any kind of deterrent, Shiro would flush crimson while Keith laughed in the background.

 

* * *

 

**6.)** **...But he made plans to settle down after Kerberos.**

He never told anyone besides Matt and Commander Holt, but Shiro made the request that he be removed from Galaxy Garrison's active roster once he returned from the mission.

He felt that, after serving the Garrison faithfully since graduation and completing as monumentous a mission as Kerberos, he needed to take time to live his life more sedately. He'd already had a semi-permanent position lined up at the academy, training cadets in flight and self-defense. He'd hoped that the relaxed lifestyle would allow him a chance to meet the right woman, get married, and start a family. Then after a few years, when his kids had grown some, he would start taking missions again.

He spent much of the trip to Pluto's moon fantasizing about this possible domestic life- spending time with a beautiful woman whom he loved, taking his children out to the desert for stargazing or visiting their Uncle Keith. He wanted to watch them grow up to become whatever they wanted.

Shiro had wanted to be a dad.

Shiro no longer entertains such optimistic goals. If he can stop the Galra, find the Holts, and get his team back to Earth, he'll be happy. Anything else is secondary.

 

* * *

 

**7.)** **He doesn't have as many nightmares as you might think.**

He doesn't, honestly. Most of the time he closes his eyes to sleep and opens them to see it's day again. He doesn't even have the brief period between sleep and wakefulness most people have first thing in the morning. He's asleep, then awake- no inbetween. This kind of sleep is hardly restful and he goes around tired most of the time. (And that's when he _does_ sleep- he more often than not goes without any thanks to insomnia.) He knows this _should_ bother him- that he has apparently trained his body to become alert at a moment's notice- but it's useful so he doesn't mind it.

Even when he _does_ have nightmares, they're rarely anything specific. They consist of dark flashes and sharp sensations, and while Shiro suspects he's actually seeing more than that, when he awakes the dreams slip from his grasp like smoke. He catapults awake, feeling breathless and frightened, but he does not remember why. But when he _does_ have a true nightmare... one he _remembers_ and is fully immersed in...

_-the torture he and the Holts were put through after they were captured, interrogated for any information the Galra may have found useful. Battles in the arena, which are filled with so much pain and exertion that Shiro wakes up exhausted. Being in Haggar's lab, where alien drugs are injected into him and make his blood feel like fire, where he's kept on the vestiges of consciousness as she slices into his arm. The_ _worst are where he either fails- where his team is captured or killed and it's all his fault because he wasn't strong enough- or turns on them because Sendak was right and he's a monster and how_ dare _he play Paladin when he's just like-_

...Shiro thinks he prefers his flashbacks to his nightmares. Though more frequent, at least the flashbacks he _knows_ are accurate- with the nightmares he's never quite sure what's real and what's something exaggerated by his stress-addled mind. He's just thankful that the night terrors are infrequent, because he knows- undoubtedly having PTSD- that he could be _far_ worse.

Thus when he gets out of the cryo-pod and Hunk asks if ever has other nightmares, he lies and says no.

 

* * *

 

**8.)** **...But he _does_ have as many scars.**

The Galra already have a list of transgressions as long as Shiro's arm, but you could tack "inadequate medical care" to it and place a picture of Shiro next to it as proof.

Not to say he never got _any_ \- after all, it wouldn't do for a crowd favorite such as the Champion to die outside the arena due to something as mundane as blood loss or infection. After a match, Shiro was taken to a small infirmary where his wounds were treated. That being said, all treatment was cursory. They were healed enough that he wouldn't die from them, but not so much that they wouldn't leave a permanent reminder behind. The Galra saw scars as marks of pride or shame depending on who bore them. As both a slave and a gladiator, it went either way for Shiro. He has scars from having made it through duels forced on him by the Galra, and scars from punishments inflicted on him for being disobedient.

Shiro had both won and been punished many times. Although, in the long run, those scars are paltry. He doesn't remember how he got most of them and would like to keep it that way, but he knows they're a sign he survived the Galra long enough for Ulaz to free him and for him to get back to Earth. Those ones, as far as he is concerned, are nothing to be ashamed of until proven otherwise. It's the scars he obviously _didn't_ get from the arena that unnerve him and make him want to hide everything under his clothes- and he's not referring to the scars surrounding the port of his prosthetic.

He does not want to dwell upon the large, dark Galra symbol burned into the center of his back.

That goes double for the thin, neat cuts spanning his body and the long vertical line going down the center his torso.

 

* * *

 

**9.)** **Shiro almost didn't accept the mission to Kerberos.**

Shiro is a massive overachiever, but he's also humble to a fault. He's confident in his abilities while at the same time always thinks there is someone better suited for the task than him. Still, if it's expected of him, he'll sure as hell see that said task is done to the best of his ability.

It's a good thing people love that quality in a leader, otherwise it would be terribly annoying.

When Commander Holt presented him with the Kerberos mission- the mission the Garrison had been preparing for for _decades_ \- he almost hadn't believed it. This was going to be a historic assignment and they chose _him_ to pilot it. In the moment, Shiro hadn't known whether to get down on his knees in gratitude or ask if they were out of their minds. Sure, he was considered one of, if not _thee_ , best pilots Galaxy Garrison had to offer and he was already a decorated officer, but at the time he was only _twenty-three_. The mission wouldn't take off for another year and he had time to prepare, but still. There had been a selection pool- there must have been _someone_ more experienced than him to choose. He brought this up and Commander Holt merely laughed.

He told Shiro they'd been preparing him for this mission from the moment he passed his first simulator and if anyone could handle it, it was him.

It was that piece of encouragement that convinced him to accept, combined with his own personal desire. Shiro joined Galaxy Garrison to explore the stars he loved since infancy, and now he had a chance to travel farther than any human had ever gone before him. It would mean leaving his family and friends for a year and there was always the chance he may not return, but Shiro couldn't turn down the opportunity when it was everything he ever hoped for.

Had he known what would occur after they landed on the ice moon, he would have turned it down faster than a wormhole jump.

 

* * *

 

**10.)** **...But even after everything, he's glad he did.**

The year with the Galra was the hardest time of Shiro's life. He still can't remember most of it and it will probably haunt him until the end of his days, but he can't bring himself to regret accepting the Kerberos mission.

He regrets the pain it brought to Pidge and her family. He regrets leaving Keith alone. He regrets that Commander Holt and Matt got caught up in all of it. He regrets the Paladins are fighting in a war when they're so young. But he does not regret going to Kerberos. Had he never accepted the mission...

He would have never been able to cheer Lance on when he made his hundredth bullseye in the Castleship's shooting range.

He would have never been able to sit with Pidge in her workshop and listen to her ramble on about what new mod she's made to Green Lion.

He would have never been able to praise Hunk when he somehow replicated the Garrison's macaroni and cheese out of alien ingredients.

He would have never been able to catch sight of Keith sleeping in the Red Lion's hangar, curled up against her paw in total comfort.

He would have never been able to wake up to find that Platt and the other mice had piled themselves next to his head in the night.

He would have never been able to trade stories of happier times in the military with Coran, whose own stories were _wild_.

He would have never been able to drink tea with Allura on evenings when neither can sleep, the weight of their traumas keeping them awake.

And above all...

Had Shiro never accepted the mission, he would have never become the Black Lion's pilot and a Paladin of Voltron. He would have never joined this team and explored the universe with them. He would have never gained his bond with the Black Lion, who makes him feel safer than he has in forever. He would have never become part of this family of space-faring misfits he's _damn_ happy to be with. He's their leader, their brother, and their friend.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

 

* * *

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**... 11.) He thinks his friends will do just fine without him.**

Shiro hopes they find him soon, though.

 


	2. Less Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter that's more lighthearted, just in case the last chapter made you sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not as connected as the last one, but should hopefully make everyone feel better. I even forwent putting in a gut-punching ending.

 

_Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane._

_Twenty-five years old, former ace pilot of the Galaxy Garrison, and is currently the Black Paladin of Voltron._

_He is stoic, occasionally goofy, has a taste for cynical humor, and has been through more suffering than a man like him should._

_However, considering what you just read, let's focus on the lighter side of him for a while, shall we?_

 

* * *

 

**1.) He does _not_ wear _eyeliner_.**

Shiro's eyelashes grow that way _naturally_ , thank you very much.

And no, he does not find it funny. You wouldn't either if you and your brother got called "Lady Lids" back in kindergarten because of it. Thankfully, as he grew older, the other kids thought they looked more cool- or attractive, in the case of his admirers- than silly and ceased their teasing.

The only reason he never trimmed his eyelashes or anything was because his late grandfather had the exact same ones. It made his parents happy. Not to say Shiro's not still a tad miffed about it, but he learned to cope if only for that reason.

Now if only Lance would stop asking how he got his wing tips so on point.

 

* * *

 

**2.) He can be surprisingly vindictive when he wants to be.  
**

This is a trait the paladins learn about Shiro the hard way.

It starts when Keith accidentally lets it slip that Shiro's birthday falls on February 29th. The look of sheer betrayal the Black Paladin shoots him sends the rest of the team into hysterical giggles. He knows what's coming and it's delivered- Lance immediately starts joking, going on about "How could we let a six-year-old pilot the Black Lion? It's amazing his feet can reach the pedals!" Pidge joins in enthusiastically and even Hunk throws in a few taunts. Keith tries to choke down his laughter and fails miserably. Shiro himself, however, keeps his face carefully blank and exits the dining room.

Later that day, the teenagers enter the training deck for their daily session, only to find Shiro is not there. This is odd, since he's usually the first one in there besides Keith. Before they have any time to wonder about it, the Gladiator drops from the ceiling and proceeds to kick all their butts. They notice soon enough that a) the Gladiator has been turned up to a higher setting, and b) Shiro is watching languidly from the control room. They shout, begging for his aid, but he replies through their helmets that a six year old has no place fighting a dangerous robot- he might hurt himself, after all.

Thankfully, he ends the training sequence after five minutes. The paladins never mock his age again.

 

* * *

 

**3.) He had a fan club back during his academy days.**

First rule of Shiro's fan club is do not _speak_ of Shiro's fan club.

 _Ever_. He has enough negative flashbacks as is.

Second rule of Shiro's fan club is that if you _must_ speak of it, do not in any way imply that it was flattering to have one.

 _It wasn't._ To this day he still double checks the contents of his sock drawer to see if everything is there.

 

* * *

 

**4.) He cannot hold his alcohol. At all.**

On Shiro's twenty-first birthday, some of his friends and fellow officers insisted on taking him into town for his first bar experience.

Shiro remembers none of it. If his friend Jeff is to be believed, he had roughly three shots (far fewer than anyone else had) before becoming utterly plastered. Shiro told him that he didn't think that was biologically possible, but apparently biology had other ideas. The few more times Shiro has had alcohol since then seem to confirm it, though he remembers those better.

On top of having almost zero tolerance to booze, he's also a _really_ embarrassing drunk. Like, blab-about-his-innermost-secrets-get-overly-affectionate-act-like-a-nerd embarrassing. He once recited all the opening scrolls from the Star Wars movies while drunk, and while that was impressive, afterwards he insisted upon doing it again, only to the tune of _Material Girl_. Which was also impressive, in its own way. He's eternally grateful there are no videos of it floating around (and there's not- he persuaded Matt to make sure of that).

Shiro swore off all alcohol of any kind when he accepted the Kerberos mission, and these days won't even _look_ at nunvil- it may not technically be alcohol, but he's a leader now and he's not risking it.

 

* * *

 

**5.) He used to LARP.**

Shiro experienced a LARPing phase during his second year of high school, right before he was admitted into the Garrison's academy.

It wasn't the elves/wizards/bean-bags-are-fireballs kind of LARPing, but rather a science-fiction rendition some members of his school's astronomy club put together. The game's setting was one of a distant future where aliens had already made contact, and there was an ongoing struggle between space explorers, space pirates, and an evil alien empire. (The irony is not lost on Shiro.) One day the game's creators invited him to play the next weekend, and despite being up to his ears in extracurricular activities, he decided to give it a try.

He fell in love with it after the first hour and made sure to show up for every game after it. He offered his knowledge of space and aeronautics to help improve the story, and even recruited more players from the astronomy club. The first time he was delegated into a minor role, but after that his friends helped him cultivate his own character. He became _Sven_ _Holgersson_ , Space Viking, who was a fighter for the game's crew of space pirates. He had a foam space ax (yes, they just tacked the word "space" in front of everything- it was silly, but fun) and even spent every session speaking in a surprisingly convincing Swedish accent. It was all ridiculous and over-the-top and made Shiro all the more excited to travel into space for real someday.

He ended up quitting when he tried to bring Ryou to one of the games after weeks of wearing the latter down. His brother's reputation had already earned scorn and Shiro's so-called friends treated him badly. The game was cut short by Ryou getting into an argument with another player, which escalated into a full-on brawl. Ryou hadn't been the instigator, so when he got banned from the game Shiro left with him as a show of solidarity. He was soon accepted by the Garrison and Shiro never bothered to find a new group to LARP with.

He can't say he doesn't miss it, but the game doesn't compare in the slightest to living the real thing.

 

* * *

 

**6.) He used to be afraid of cats.  
**

These days he's okay with felines- good thing too, otherwise it would be a _lot_ more tense with the Lions. As a child, however, he was completely terrified of them.

What made it weird was _no one knew why._ He'd never been hurt by cat or had any other form of traumatic experience with one. It first became apparent when he was two- during a visit to Japan he took one look at his grandmother's old tuxedo cat and burst into tears. He continued with his wailing until one of his cousins took the pet into another room, after which he finally calmed down. When asked what he made him upset, he (according to family testimony) just kept shaking his head and mumbling in baby-speak.

The trend continued through his early years. Every time he saw a cat or one got close he'd freak out. Some of his older cousins started calling him "Ranma" in good-natured jest, and Ryou once put a friend's mean old calico in his room just to hear him shriek. His mother decided enough was enough and one day took both her sons to the local animal shelter. She had Shiro interact with the shelter's kittens and gentler cats so he could see they weren't so bad. They did this every week for an entire summer and Shiro was eventually cured of his phobia. He celebrated by locking Ryou in a dark closet and took pleasure in hearing him spaz out for five minutes.

He still doesn't know why he'd been so afraid of cats to begin with. He recalls his grandmother- who owns the tuxedo cat and is also very superstitious- did have a theory. She theorized he'd been killed or harmed in some way by a cat in a past life, and thus became wary of them in his current life. Shiro's not the religious type, so he takes this with a grain of salt.

...Still, he remembers how much his neck used to ache after encountering a cat, so maybe...

 

* * *

 

**7.) He has weird tastes when it comes to food.**

Shiro likes smothering sushi in soy sauce- even when it's not supposed to have any, much to his family's exasperation.

Shiro prefers those weird off-brand creme cookies instead of actual Oreos.

Shiro eats tuna out of the can without draining any of the oil.

Shiro will eat a jar of pickles, then _drink_ the pickle juice when he's done.

Shiro likes the food goo the Castleship produces the first time he tries it.

 _Shiro actually liked the Garrison commissary's macaroni and cheese dish._ Even Hunk, who is willing to eat just about anything, speaks of the macaroni and cheese with nothing but disdain. When Shiro mentions that he thought it was great, the rest of the team shoot him expressions ranging from befuddlement to sheer horror.

Which is why he is pleasantly surprised when the Yellow Paladin recreates it for him out of alien ingredients. He's the only one who eats it and Coran complains about him liking this when he won't even try the paladins' lunch, but Shiro is happy all the same.

 

* * *

 

**8.) He sings, but will only do so if he thinks no else is listening.**

This is another trait the paladins learn about Shiro, but in a manner that is infinitely more pleasant than the last one.

It's back on Arus, when they're still practicing with Voltron and getting the Castle of Lions repaired. Allura tasks them with going through some of the storage rooms, raiding them for clothes and other supplies. Each paladin takes a room to search and after several vargas Lances decides they could use a break. He gathers everyone up and collectively they go to get Shiro. As they approach the storage room he was allotted, they notice two things- the door is open, and Shiro is _singing_.

The song being sung has a slow, lullaby-like tune. He's also singing it in Japanese and the paladins have no idea what he's saying, but it doesn't change the fact it's one of the most beautiful things they've ever heard. They peek their heads in to see Shiro going through a white metal container. The room is musty, which is probably why he left the door open. He's singing and it's like he's the only person in the universe. The effect is ruined when he finishes the song and Hunk, Lance, and Pidge all begin applauding. Shiro jumps a foot in surprise.

Shiro is suitably embarrassed, despite all the Garrison Trio's assurances that he sounded wonderful. Later, Keith quietly inquires about the song he was singing. With a face too straight to be genuine, he admits it's from an anime he watched once.

 

* * *

 

**9.) Keith learned that crazy cliff-falling technique from him... kind of.**

Back before Kerberos, Shiro would occasionally go on rides through the desert with Keith on their hover-bikes. They would race, visit old desert diners that had existed since before the turn of the century, and generally have a good time. During one such race, Keith pulled ahead of Shiro on their chosen route. Not one to back down from challenge, Shiro looked for a shortcut.

He found one in a nearby cliff.

Shiro immediately turned his bike and hit the throttle. To his thrill and Keith's distress, he rode over the side of the cliff and cut the engine. He waited a few long seconds before restarting the bike and cushioning his fall with the sudden thrust of air. He made it to the designated finish line a full five minutes before Keith did. When the teenager did arrive, he hopped off his hover-bike, grabbed Shiro by the shirt, and shook him furiously as he yelled at him for scaring the living daylights out of him like that. Shiro laughed at first, but apologized when he saw how truly upset Keith was. It took buying him an apple pie at their favorite diner before the younger man would even speak to him.

Once Keith had cooled off and pie had been eaten, he demanded to know where Shiro learned such an insane move. Shiro didn't respond, instead deflecting the question by making Keith swear to never attempt what he just did. Even he wasn't supposed to learn it, and if Keith ever tried it Shiro would make him run extra laps around the Garrison for the rest of his natural life. The cadet swore and Shiro had ruffled his hair in relief.

A year later when Pidge told Shiro the exact details of how they rescued him, he nearly had a heart attack. Keith wisely left the room, Shiro assumes later, so he wouldn't have to explain the ridiculous amount of time he undoubtedly spent driving over the edge of cliffs in the last year.

 

* * *

 

**10.) He originally got his undercut because he thought it made him look cool.**

Once upon a time, when Shiro was thirteen and had not quite yet shaken off his youthful gullibility, his cousin Ryūsei commented during a family reunion that Shiro would look cool with an undercut. Ryou had been teasing his twin earlier, calling him a hopeless nerd, and Ryūsei later jokingly made that comment to cheer Shiro up. The moment the future paladin got home, he started doing research into various styles of undercuts to see which one suited him best. He decided on the simple style he wears now, begged his parents to let him get it, and was allowed to do so provided he paid for it himself.

He kept the style all throughout middle school and the few years he went to high school. When entering the Garrison academy, he was immensely relieved that regulations towards hair were lax enough that he wouldn't have to change his favorite hairstyle. By that point though, he kept it not because he thought he looked cool, but because he was the only one in his class who _had_ an undercut. He liked the uniqueness of it, and it became something of a trademark. Takashi Shirogane- ace pilot, Garrison golden boy, and guy with an undercut.

If he could say anything _remotely_ positive about his Galra captors, it was they were "nice" enough to maintain his old hairdo. (And wasn't that just depressing.)

These days though, he personally tries to keep his hair the same because its _familiar_. Shiro's appearance has changed so much in the last year- the slash across his nose, his other scars, his enhanced physique (he'd always been fit, but apparently being a gladiator made you _jacked_ ), the white bangs, his arm. Every time he looks into a mirror he has to consciously prevent himself from doing a double-take, because he just doesn't _recognize_ the man reflected back at him anymore. That stupid undercut he got when he was thirteen is the _one_ aspect of his appearance from before Kerberos that hasn't changed.

A few months into their space adventure, Lance catches him with the Altean-equivalent of an electric razor, trying to shave his newly grown hair. It's honestly sad to watch, so once the Blue Paladin stops laughing he offers to do it for Shiro. As it turns out, one of Lance's aunts taught him how to cut hair and he ends up doing a pretty good job. Hunk and Pidge catch the two them and ask Lance to give them a trim as well. Keith bluntly refuses, not trusting his self-proclaimed rival to not screw with his precious mullet.

The entire scene devolves into Lance chasing Keith around the castle with the razor, followed closely behind with Pidge and Hunk wielding a spray bottle and a hand mirror respectively. Shiro doesn't break it up because he's belly-laughing too hard at the sight of Keith's completely terrified expression. He laughs so intensely that he has to sit down and catch his breath. It's the first time Shiro's laughed _that much_ in over a year.

The paladins agree to upkeep their hair together once a month from then on.

Shiro changes his mind- his hair is still pretty cool.

 


End file.
